Staggered by scandal, boxing club fights back

That's how volunteer coach Alex Martinez describes the teaching method he uses with the 80 or so youths who train at the Undisputed Champ Boxing Club on East Fourth Street.

It could also be used to describe the club's transition in the past 11/2 years from a group marred by a sexual abuse scandal involving a former coach into what some say is a more united organization with a new name and leadership.

To show the community that the club is rebuilding and is intent on strengthening the lives of children and families, pastor Nati Alvarado Jr. – the man who now runs the club – is holding a grand opening Saturday featuring everything from classic cars to an outdoor boxing ring.

“The spirit is alive in these people's lives,” Alvarado said this week while observing a bustling training session at the aging gym. “The issue tried to break the club but it couldn't because these people are survivors, true champions.”

The Santa Ana Boxing Club operated out of a building at Garfield and Fourth Street for decades under John Ramirez Sr. It closed after his death, then reopened under the Orange County Youth Commission, a nonprofit dedicated to improving the lives of inner-city youth.

In July 2012, a longtime coach at the club was arrested on suspicion of sexually assaulting a teenage member. In March, Anthony Serrano was sentenced to two years in state prison after pleading guilty to sexually assaulting two club members.

The incident and its aftermath took a heavy toll on the gym. Attendance plummeted from about 70 to 20. Donations dried up. And some longtime supporters severed their ties.

It was during this turbulence that the commission asked Alvarado – the leader of the Santa Ana-based Word of Life Orange County congregation – if he'd like to take over the club.

Although he was “a little leery” and lacked the funds to maintain it on an ongoing basis, he agreed, in the belief that if it was meant to be part of his life and his ministry, God would provide the money to cover expenses.

Alvarado, 52, knew the club's road to recovery would be rocky, but the former-heroin-addict-turned-college-graduate said he was up for the challenge, especially if the gym could keep neighborhood kids engaged and away from the city's “mean” streets, which lured him when he was a teen.

So the Santa Ana native accepted the offer, bought a van for the club with $3,500 in family savings and came up with a new name for the gym as a nod to God – who he says is the “ultimate undisputed champ.”

Today, the club is showing signs of rebirth.

Dozens of kids, ages 7 to 18, train inside and outside the gym on weekdays. New families frequently stop by to inquire about the free program. And some of those who have weathered the tough times say they have a newfound sense of ownership in the club.

Abel Silva, 60, is among the newcomers. The Santa Ana man discovered the club about a year ago and brings his six grandchildren to train there five days a week. He says the experience has fortified his family, and his grandkids have become more outgoing and respectful.

That's exactly what coach Martinez, a single dad of two, says he aims to teach while guiding children of various ages and skill sets through conditioning and sparring exercises.

“Here, we're all about discipline, respect and humility,” said Martinez, 43, of Westminster.

And it's these lessons that Alvarado says will ultimately make a difference in the athletes' lives.

“We use boxing as a tool,” he said. “It's the principles that we impart that will make them successful in our community.”

While the future of the club is looking up, it still needs financial help, Alvarado said. His church's parent congregation in Hawaii kicks in $300 a month, the Ramirez family allows him to contribute what he can toward rent, and Word of Life members recently spruced up the facility's interior for free. But the club lacks stable income.

“I don't allow the lack to stop me,” Alvarado said. “Because the dream, the vision that I have is not for myself, it's for the community.”